Rapture: The Church Strikes Back

I knew when I wrote the Rapture Is A Lie blog that I wouldn't be able to answer all the questions people would have. It's hard enough to keep people's attention when a post gets long, throw in that it's on a theological topic and you're entering dangerous water. As an example, Rachelle has already given up reading this post. ^__^

Kat had a question about another passage in her comment on the first blog. If the Thessalonians passage is the #1 response, then these passages are #2 most common but they are more nuanced than Thess. I refer the the "taken and left" passages found in Matthew 24 and Luke 17: "One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left". Both of these passages, unlike the Thessalonians passage, are talking about end times which does make this a point of interest for this topic. What is Jesus talking about in these passages, is it a rapture that they have been "taken" by?

First, let me outline some of my presuppositions that I try to come to any text with when it comes to interpretation. You already know that I don't believe in the rapture, but even if I did I certainly wouldn't come to this or any text with that in mind because it would cloud my interpretation. All I am coming at this with is a knowledge of who is speaking, who is being spoken to, who is the author, what is the authors themes for the book/passage, what kind of literature is this (narrative, poetry, parable, etc). I'm not using a commentary really, but I already have knowledge of what some commentators say which can also hamper me making up my own mind. I want to be as impartial as possible. I like to think I do this very well. No theology is necessarily set in stone, all is questioned and processed constantly. This kind of thing made my fellow students uncomfortable with me at times. Oh well. It's how my brain works, it's tiresome at times. I spent 7 years getting a Bible undergrad and master's degree and to this day and nearly everyday I will reexamine the evidences and lack for believing in a god. Nearly everyday! I don't really want to do it, but it's there in my head with friends like rapture and others being rethought through in a never ending examination. Tiring.

However this can make for much frustration when you are in the real world where there are deadlines and you are still trying to fit it all together. (Consequently, many of my papers for my Master's degree were late). Really it is like a tapestry, finely woven, intricately patterned, beautiful. We do the Bible such a disservice; we do Jesus such a disservice in our inability to convey how amazing his teaching is. We focus so much on the content that we lose the man in all of it. His style and the depth at which he understands his audience and material is awe inspiring to me as a teacher myself. And forsaking this means we can lose the content we are after. I'll post my interpretation of the mustard seed parable sometime as an example.

See, long winded soap box action. I'm losing people so here goes.

I'll start with Matthew just because his train of thought is easier to see because it is straight forward while Luke is tying together some events that are harder to see the connections. Remember, the gospels are not annals, they aren't history books. Yes they contain historical fact, but that is superseded by what the author wants to teach the reader. Luke and Matthew don't use Jesus' words verbatim because that does not suit their objective. This is sort of a foreign concept to Western minds but it's pretty much the way it is.

This is what I want to you to do when reading the Bible, you probably do it with every other book except the Bible naturally, feel the emotion the author is bringing across. Now I don't mean get some fuzzy feeling, i mean be in awe, be sad, be struck by the compassion of Jesus. Let it penetrate you mentally but also emotionally and spiritually.

After reading these passages for a few hours over and over, processing it over and over again there is a sobering, somber feeling. The reason is because these two passages are essentially a warning. Jesus is exhorting the disciples to watchfulness and preparedness through an introspective understanding of ourselves/the things we may value above God. Are we doing what is right? What do we value? Specifically he says, "Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it". But also very practically, this is warning against following false prophets/messiahs. The key illustration that was really perplexing but now makes sense was Jesus saying: "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather". A very dark, almost sinister illustration of what is happening and integral to the explanation of those "taken and left".

Matthew 24:15-28 explains that there will be false prophets, people calling themselves messiah, and rumors of messiah and people are going to fall for it. Jesus says: "So, if they say to you, 'Look, he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it". Instead he likens his return to like lightning. Everyone will see it, they 'll hear it, it will be obvious: "For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man". Those who are fooled are following after death, they have put their hope and belief in nothing and therefore scavenge a corpse: "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather". It means destruction of the soul that they have brought upon themselves for whatever reason brought them out.

Jesus then likens this destruction to other examples in Matthew 24:36-44:
But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

We already saw above what Jesus was concerned about, now we see when and what he likens the destruction of the end to, namely Noah and the flood. Everyone was living out their normal lives when the flood came, they weren't prepared. Remember, preparedness is a key theme. The return of Messiah will be the same way, people will not be prepared and won't realize until the flood, which is the return of messiah in the illustration, is upon them. And by that time what is the state of the person? "The flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man".

Now here is the question: Who is "taken" in the destruction? I would say that the text implies that those bound for destruction are taken. Why do we need to be watchful, prepared, or warned if those taken are believers? It would imply that we have to do something when the rapture happened, like hit the "Beam me up, Jesus!" button. Why must we "stay awake"? He answers with another illustration of a servant and master. We must be prepared, not because we are taken in a rapture, but because we are going to be accountable for what we have done with what God has given us, the kingdom work He placed before us. We must be diligent in our devotion in order that we are not caught up in the flood, the destruction that Messiah's return will herald.

The Luke passage says all this more concisely. Luke 17 the author is getting across that we as disciples need to get to the business of doing what ought to be done.
Luke 17:1-4: Jesus pretty much says stop sinning and don't make others sin or you are really screwed.
Luke 17 5-10: Disciples hear this and so "Oh crap, we need more faith if that's the case!" To which Jesus says in illustration form, "You have more than enough for the job, just do your duty. Doing what is right is not hard. Live your life for God not yourself".
Luke 17:11-19: See even a Samaritan leper, the most disgusting thing to the disciples does what is right without being told. Sort of a "in your face" by the author Luke.

This is the background for the passage we want to look at in Luke 17:22-37 which is very, very close to Matthew 24:15-28 whose point was following after false messiahs will condemn those to destruction.
And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, 'Look, there!' or 'Look, here!' Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left." And they said to him, "Where, Lord?" He said to them, "Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."

The descriptions of Noah and introduction of Lot this time both serve to illustrate the same thing as the Matthew passage. The description of the peoples daily lives reminds me of the folly described in Judges where "everyone did what was right in their own eyes". Previously in the chapter, the author has repeated that following God, obeying, doing what is right are what's important but the people described in the Noah/Lot illustration seem to be going through the motions of life without acknowledging God. They were destroyed and... "So will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed". Once again this is a warning. Do not forsake God, let nothing take his place because the consequences are dire: "Let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife". Lot's wife turned back longing for the life she was leaving and she died because of it. Is this all coming together for everyone?

Finally: "'I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.' And they said to him, 'Where, Lord?' He said to them, 'Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather'". If this is about the "rapture of the saints" it is painting a worse picture than any tribulation. From Matthew, we already saw the terribleness of the "corpse/vulture" illustration and now Luke and placed it in direct result of the "taken" passage. If you want to believe that this is teaching that Christians are taken away and the others are left for destruction, you can but it is certainly not what the plain meaning of this passage is pointing to. I asked you to feel for a reason, that reason is because these passages tingle with cold desperation not triumphant escape.

If I just used my brain I may be able to convince myself as some do, that the final illustration is a good thing. The word used for "corpse" in Matthew meant just corpse but here the greek word soma is used which can also mean "body". The word for vultures can also mean "eagles". And so people say: "See! We are taken where? We fly up on wings like eagles around the body of Jesus! Hallelujah". That interpretation goes against any feeling in this passage. It goes against it as a warning, as a call to doing the work of God until the master returns. Instead, we are wisked away from the work of the master in order to sit around until Jesus really comes back. Where is that in this passage? It is no where.

These passages are sobering reminders of the cost of being a disciple but also the overwhelming result for those who are not or are riding the fence saying they follow Jesus but when the rubber meets the road their lives tell a different story. Messiah's return is like a flood and in a flood you are either above the flood waters or you are taken away ("seized"is also a translation for the Greek word used for "taken"). Seized by what? What will cause you to turn back? Pride, possessions, friends, work? They are all called "corpses" that you cling to like a vulture to a dead animal, sucking away the last bits of marrow.

I don't know about you but the last thing I want is to be "taken" as these passages talk about.